


Carry On.

by jeffgangfan



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: AU-No Gods, Angst, Exchange students, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-22
Updated: 2017-03-20
Packaged: 2018-08-10 11:46:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7843687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jeffgangfan/pseuds/jeffgangfan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Percy realized he might have fallen in love with Nico, the exchange student whom he intended to have a casual fling with. Funny how the first person he learned to love would be returning home within today and Percy still couldn't manage to get out of bed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is written for Day 5 of Percico Positivity Project.

Percy took a heaving breath and stared out at the window, not caring about the soothing flow of rain on the pane of glass for once. At least the sky had mercifully allowed him sad, wet weather on the day that Nico had to return to Italy. The weather was sad, but Percy felt sick. He felt his eyes stung by tears, but he felt like laughing at himself.

The first words that came out of Nico’s pretty, definitely-kissed-by-Percy lips had been about the impossibility of the situation. About how they wouldn’t be able to be close. About how their real homes were miles and oceans apart. Percy had shut him up by kissing him again and again, breaking off just before the school bell rang. He had told Nico that he should tried having Percy as a fling, a distraction from his homesickness.

Nico had been upset at first, staying away from Percy for two weeks. They continued to be Chemistry partner and Percy continued to adore Nico’s accent as he pronounced the elements despite the glares Nico sent his way. He missed the Nico’s babbling where he sometimes unknowingly threw Italian words into his sentences, but he consoled himself by recalling the feel of Nico’s lips sliding between his. Percy would not admit it, but he accidentally moaned aloud in the middle of the school canteen during a session of self-consolation. Jason had quickly batted the camera Leo was holding away and gave him a wink that reminded Percy to cut another notch into his List-of-times-when-Jason-Grace-saved-my-life.

_“Di Angelo’s still not sitting with us today?” Leo asked, adding another fork into his strange-looking contraption. Percy held on to his plastic one tightly, not wanting to eat spaghetti with his hands._

_“It’s been two weeks, hasn’t it?” Jason casted Percy a disapproving look, which Percy had learned to ignore ever since they started being bros. Jason was such a goody-two-shoes except that time he accidentally led on both Piper and Reyna. He managed to apologize to the two girls and hadn’t dated either of them again while Percy couldn’t even pronounce the word “Sorry” to Annabeth, his most serious ex-girlfriend._

_“Yeah. He’s a prude.” Percy shoved some spaghetti in his mouth._

_“I wonder if you would ever stop being an asshole and stop breaking people’s hearts. I know you feel awkward with the whole relationship thing, but you’ve got to clean up after your shit,” Leo said, pushing the contraption forward onto Percy’s lunch. Jason rolled his eyes. Percy managed to dodge the splash thanks to his quick reflexes. “because being clumsy is one thing and being fully aware of fucking up without apologizing is another thing.”_

Nevertheless, Nico came back, crashing into Percy forcefully and tumbling down with him on the cement ground of the parking lot. They kissed then waited in silence as the principal walked by the line of cars just to their left and kissed again. Percy was tempted to move his hands further down, but Nico stopped him, being the prude he was. After that, they did become somewhat an item despite Percy never being able to get beyond kissing and desperate groping. Nico always stopped him with a tentative smile then pressed a chaste kiss to the corner of his lips. Percy never thought more of those pecks, yet he now suspected they were part of a tactic to keep Percy hungry for more.

Nico had fulfilled his act of a sweet lover as an answer for Percy’s proposal of a fling. The irony was that Nico was the one to leave now, and Percy might have fallen for him.

_“Well, are you sure he’s just another fling?” Leo asked, this time trying to pile up red trays on their table. Percy had moved two chairs away from him just to ensure the safety of his lunch. God forbid anything happens to his cheese burger. “You look in love.”_

_“Why do you think so?” he asked, looking for Jason. It seemed that Wonder Boy had been skipping lunch recently, giving Leo freedom to build up whatever he wanted with canteen appliances. He told Leo and Percy that Drama Club took time, but Percy suspected a love interest._

_“First sign is that you actually remember your dates. Nico doesn’t have to remind you every lunch.” Leo fluttered his eyelashes and walked over to Percy’s chair to lower his head. “Hey, Percy. Don’t forget we’re meeting up today at Florence’s. Remember to arrive earlier than six!” Leo perfected his imitation of Annabeth to the point that Percy barked out a laugh, something he rarely ever did. Unfortunately, he had been more startled by the fact that he laughed than by the point Leo made._

Percy supposed there was something about Nico that made Percy forgot about any physical sort of activities later on. Their dates could be called creative and were nothing like his previous ones. Percy could be mopping the house and Nico would be reading aloud his homework questions for Percy to answer so he wouldn’t be distracted whenever he sat down at his study desk. Percy could be collecting wet towels and cleaning the bathroom while Nico hung up the new laundry, listing out the points to each of his favorite card game. They could be playing Tag in the park and kissed when no one was looking. They could be hiding in piles of dry leaves to jump out and scare unsuspecting dogs. Percy often felt breathless after every of their goodbye kisses. He should have known that his sense of exhilaration didn’t come from just his heavy exercises during their dates.

There was one time when Nico almost lost control of his desire. They had been kissing and Nico had been squirming excitedly, sinking his fingers into Percy’s wet, shampooed-clean hair. Percy believed that he wouldn’t want wet fingers cupping his face or slipping beneath his shirt so he had took hold of both wrists and held them above Nico’s head. Apparently, the loss of control turned Nico on to the point that he arched off the bed, brushing his erection against Percy’s. Percy had gasped, taken by surprise although his grip on Nico’s slim wrists hadn’t faltered. It was a moment when everything changed for both of them and the initial purpose of the fling could have happened right there. Nico had nodded. Not once but twice. Yet Percy could feel him trembling beneath, his eyelashes fluttering as he struggled to keep his eyes open in search of Percy’s reaction. His lips parted, a bit of a pink tongue could be seen. It was an invitation, a mind-numbingly eager one for all Nico’s past attempts at halting them. However, all Percy could feel was a sense of protection for the boy beneath him. So, he held Nico in his arms until their achingly hard desire subsided, until Nico fell asleep. Without knowing that he had fallen. He had fallen so hard and so painfully for the boy whom he initially regarded as no different from his past fickle flings.

He hadn’t seen Nico for five days, the last time was when Nico informed him of his father no longer tolerating delays. He had thrown a fit, of course. Had told Nico he didn’t give a damn if the Italian left the country without saying goodbye. Yet, Percy dreamt about helping Nico pack up and shedding his tears on every surface of Nico’s place. He dreamt about halting their work by kissing Nico and counting the freckles on his back as Nico cleaned without his shirt. His house quickly fell into a state of disarray and Sally believed that she should leave him to be by himself after announcing that she was always available for consolation.

Percy was about to slumped back on the bed again when his phone buzzed, signaling a message. He reached for it and the name felt like a stab to the stomach.

_Annabeth: Meet up at Florence’s 20 min later. Important. You’ll regret being late._


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annabeth had something important to tell him. Percy might as well be on time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my probably last contribution to this fandom. 
> 
> Thank you for everything, happiness and suffering. I wish you all well and that this fandom will always prevail.

“Well, you’re not late. For once.” Annabeth slapped down her notebook, pen still tugged on her ear. She only had an earphone on, which meant she wasn’t actually focused on whatever she had in her bullet journal. It was from personal experience that Percy knew she was waiting for him. If she hadn’t, both earphones would have been put on to create a barrier against the world around her, allowing her to drown in her notes, her books, her whatever.

Percy didn’t care for her. He felt almost nothing for her. Guitly, yes. But care? No.

“What is so important that you swallowed your pride and texted the number you haven’t dialed for like, I don’t know, two years?” Percy sat down to the chair across from Annabeth, feeling _Ugh_ already. People told him he was reckless, some stupidly told him he was brave. Truth is, he was just a coward and didn’t deal well with guilt or any emotion regarding his ex-girlfriend. His ex-girlfriend ** _s_**.

“You are an asshole.” Annabeth calmly informed him, always in control. She was always striving for control in every aspect of her life. Her system of notes, her spick-and-span study desk, her presentations, her meals, her everything. Percy, unfortunately, was the exact opposite. And, she couldn’t control him. “Now shut the fuck up, I’m getting at something huge.”

“This doesn’t have anything to do with Nico, does it?” Because if you saw a movie of Percy’s life starting since he was the kid that flooded The Aquarium on his school trip to free lobsters and sea turtles, you would eventually manage to draw a pattern. It would be something close to a fluctuating line-graph, and since Percy had spent days moping in his pigsty of a room, he figured the line would started rising….right about…now.

“It does, actually. He was on the library’s computer yesterday, checking his admission decision after a phone call from his sister. I was just behind him, doing some light-reading.” Annabeth spun her pen, twirling it through her skillful, made-to-fuck fingers. If Percy wasn’t wondering about how lucky that Reyna Ramirez-what’s-her-name was, he would probably point out that a book like _1984_ wasn’t what normal people called “light-reading”.

“He seemed to have received a call from his father, and was really upset. So upset that he raised his voice and had to left for a quiet corner, leaving his computer for me to see what the fuss was all about.”

Percy frowned. This was one of the reasons why Annabeth couldn’t be the “ _it-girl_ ” for him; she was too curious, always demanding to know who was on the phone and if he was texting other girls while being with her. (She fumed when Percy informed her that there are also boys he would love to “thrust his greatness upon” and that she should pay more attention to him being the typical bisexual slut). Okay, side-tracking right there.

“Don’t look at me as if you’re having shit under your nose.” Annabeth snapped. Another reason for their spectacular break-up was that she was never patient enough with him. “You aren’t a saint yourself, Percy. If I hadn’t-” _If she hadn’t_ , maybe he would lost Nico, the only person patient enough to read books aloud for him when he learned about Percy’s stupid dyslexia.

“Okay, sorry. Continue.” Percy gestured, growing impatient himself. Annabeth’s grey eyes widened, maybe because she realized this was the first time his apology sounded slightly close to being genuinely apologetic. In spite of that initial moment of panic, she carried on.

“He was accepted by Union, and actually would study in New York. Your problem here is that he decided to have a gap-year travelling anyway.”

“He what!?” Percy jumped. He was surprised. Shocked, even. How come Nico didn’t tell him? Why did he let Percy have the impression that he had to go back to Italy to study in some Roman-catholic fancy university that Percy could never afford with his minimum wage combined with his mother’s two part-time jobs. What the _fuck_.

“You can’t really stop him. He wouldn’t stay even if you ask him to.” Annabeth shrugged, making Percy itching to growl at her. When she loved him, she made sure nobody got on his nerves. When she finally hated him (after dick moves from him, Percy conceded), she made sure she was the one to get on his nerves. “But,” Annabeth Chase, first high-school girlfriend, worst break-up ever, took his hand. Percy was startled. But her grip was strong, her fingers vine-like. “don’t let him go thinking that he didn’t mean a thing. You can fix the broken rift between you, made sure this isn’t just a bad memory for him. You can, Percy. Just say sorry.”

His throat closed up, his eyes stung just a tidbit. “Why?” he asked. He didn’t understand why Annabeth would help him. She could have kept this information to herself, let Percy ache with the thought that Nico left him for good while the shorter boy might just be hanging around in a city of a two-hour drive distance.

“Because I’m done pitying you. Go find a love that’s not shitty for once.” Annabeth shrugged again, letting go of his hand. Percy didn’t feel annoyed with her unperturbed demeanor this time.

Because they both knew if they had tried, they could have been great.

 

 

Nico looked ridiculous lying on his back on the freshly-mown grass of the park. His dark, morbid-skull emblazoned clothes just contrasted with the brimming-with- life green under his back. His bangs were in his eyes, one couldn’t tell if he was sleeping or high on some sort of weed that “young people these days would smoke.” People were staring, concerned. To Percy, he was the most beautiful.

Nico didn’t move when Percy lay down next to him. His pale lips, lips that hadn’t been kissed for days, were slightly parted. Sunlight warmed his lips, and his skin, and maybe his heart would burst into flame just from it because the love that was packed inside for his sister and his father was already so flammable. Percy wanted to kiss him. Right there where old people might gawk with bread crumbs in their palms, where children would play Tag, where disapproval might come in the form of punches from the douches that hung around just somewhere behind that huge decorative wheel-cart. He really wanted to.

He didn’t, because for once, it was not important what he wanted. He needed to fix this between Nico and him.

“Nico.” He tapped lightly on Nico’s shoulder. Percy found himself unaccustomed to this gesture. He usually called for attention by shouting or by an arm slung casually on others’ shoulders.

“Hmmm? Percy?” Nico sat up, hair wild around where they were mussed on the grass. They probably smelled like grass. With a hint of the Toffee shampoo Nico used. “Percy?” he asked again, as if couldn’t believe Percy was there in front of him. His eyes narrowed immediately, already on the defense. Percy could understand that. His words were meant to draw blood, and they did the last time Percy and Nico saw each other. “What are you doing here?”

Percy wanted to reply with _“What? Is this park property of Rich Boy Nico di Angelo, too?”_ or _“It might not be the case with your Nazis in Italy, but this country is a free country”_ or some shit just as stupid and provocative. But Nico had soft eyes, now dull like grey walls before Percy’s possible attack, so Percy couldn’t. He didn’t want to hurt Nico anymore; he didn’t think he had it in him.

“I want to say I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said the things I did.” Percy tried and he felt something close to relief. Something lifted from his chest. The only person Percy used the word “sorry” correctly for was his mother, and why was that? She used to be so proud of him. Now there was a tired resignation in the way she let him sulk alone, as if she didn’t know what to do with her boy anymore. Why was that?

Since when did his line-graph started to fluctuate after reaching a whole different level of low?

“Yeah, that was shitty of you.” Nico looked at him, really looked at him so that Percy could see the vulnerable in those quiet eyes. Brown eyes that used to say so much when Percy was claiming Nico’s lips, was kissing Nico’s temple, was pressing his forehead against Nico’s. He felt like he had fucked up, while trying to maintain his title of a fuck-up.

“I’m so sorry.” Percy repeated, because he really was. Sorry, now. Sorry for having treated Nico like a douche. Sorry that his life was falling apart with rapidly emerging realizations. Sorry that he was living in denial, refusing to see the state he had fallen into and the way he strutted around, slinging darts at the people around him.

“I know. I’m sorry you have to hurt like this, too.” Nico closed his eyes again. “I could see why you are hurting and I thought I could show you. You never really looked, Percy. Never saw the change that was for the better.” Percy swallowed. He saw the days in the park where he laughed in true happiness instead of barking out dry laughs and swearing at failed stunts. He saw the days when he did chores not because his mother told him to “ _please Percy, remember to wash the dishes this time”_ but because they were done with Nico by his side.

“We can still have those.” _Changes_. **Changes** , dammit. “I can still change. You can still stay, give me another chance.” Well, well, the irony. Percy found these words familiar _and_ unfamiliar. Familiar because he couldn’t tell the number of girls had said them to him, tears on their faces and sweat in their palms. Unfamiliar because he had never had to say them and there were tears in his eyes and he felt drenched his sweat now and fuck fuck fuck- He couldn’t see why anyone would endure this for him; Nico was the only reason and probably the only fucking person on the face of this fucking Earth would he do this for.

“I’m not leaving because of you.” Nico turned to him, head resting on his forearm. “I’m not staying because of you, either. But, you know I forgive you. That’s the best I can do. I won’t change my decision for you.”

Percy didn’t expect him to.

“Can you at least tell me why you would want to leave? Why travelling with a gap-year?” he asked Nico, because Nico was sweet, and Nico was heavenly. In his black clothes, he was light. Nico could forgive him, and Percy immediately asked for more. That was just how he rolled, being the professional bastard.

“If you bother to remember the stuff I told you about my sister,” Percy felt a stab of physical pain, a hallucinated-feeling punch right where his heart beat beneath his ribcage. Nico thought he wouldn’t remember? He did. “you would know that she once revealed that I was growing too dependent on her. That’s why I went as exchange-student here. But I know that I can’t go back just yet, after a year of being on my own here. It feels right to be independent and I’m taking a bigger step. I want to explore more.”

 “And you didn’t tell me.” It wasn’t even a question, Percy stated a fact.

“It was my plan before we even meet. You know, to travel before college.” Nico shook his head, his hand so close to Percy that Percy ached just to touch it with his pinkie. “And when you said you wanted a fling, I didn’t know what to do. I have never known what a fling is, and I thought -” Nico swung an arm on his eyes, as if ashamed, too, “I thought what we were having was a fling. I thought that was how you do a fling, because you didn’t exactly give me anything to feel that we are more than that.”

Oh dear fucking god, what a prude.

“So all the chaste kissing, the self-imposed cock-blocks were your idea of a fling?” Percy asked, incredulous. He was also feeling giddy. Hope was not lost. Nico didn’t hurt him intentionally. Didn’t do as Percy would do when he threw somebody’s heart down on the gritty floor and stomped on it.

“Yeah.” Nico’s cheeks were gaining the color of sunset, fucking pink and blazing and too adorable.  
“My family was rather old-fashioned.”

“It stopped being a fling to me a long time ago, you know.” Percy replied gently, more gently than he thought himself capable of. He reached for Nico’s hand, intertwined their fingers because it was high time he took the initiative in anything but sex. This felt right. He was finally doing this a bit right.

“I didn’t know.”

“I didn’t know either.”

Nico blinked at him and Percy suddenly had the idea of a pool party where the pool was paved in black because he would love to drown in the pools that were Nico’s eyes, wait, side-tracking again.

“I can’t force you to stay, can I?” he asked quietly. The line-graph started a downward slope.

“Yeah.” Tumbling down rather fast now, the imaginary line in his head. “But, I can choose to go back to you. A year apart, maybe some quick visits, but then whether we would be together in college depends completely on you.” Nico smiled at him, a smile somehow similar to what a character gave as a happy ending. The line, if it could, would break through the ceiling.

“I’m guessing I’d better work hard for this.”

“It’s a requirement.” Nico nodded solemnly, before a smile tugged at his lips. And then he smiled, the brightest fucking smile that could be compared to the Italian sun that tanned his skin. Percy felt adrenaline pumping through his veins the way it did after a wicked stunt he pulled with his skateboard. He leaned in, the tip of his nose touching Nico’s.

Nico had his hands fisted in the grass; he was nervous, too. They were nervous, clumsy not-quite-teenagers-and-not-quite-adults having a go at this new relationship. When Percy asked Nico if he could kiss him, first time asking for this as if it was a gift, a privilege with which came no oppression, Nico told him to

“Carry on.”

FIN

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a comment to tell me what you might think of this.


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